


Phasmophobia

by PeanuutFlower



Series: MegaPit [15]
Category: Phasmophobia (Video Game), Rockman | Mega Man Classic, Super Smash Brothers, 光神話 | Kid Icarus (Video Games)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Ghost Hunters, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Banter, Bromance, Dancing, Death Scene, Ghosts, Grief/Mourning, Haunted Houses, M/M, Phasmophobia AU, Rating May Change, Swear Words, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:41:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27973857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeanuutFlower/pseuds/PeanuutFlower
Summary: Ness, Toon Link, Rock and Villager form a team of amateur ghost hunters.On their newest mission, they find themselves dealing with a rather strange ghost...
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Ness (Mother 2) & Toon Link & Villager (Animal Crossing) & Rockman | Mega Man, Pit (Kid Icarus)/Rockman | Mega Man
Series: MegaPit [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1602994
Comments: 8
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For a bit of context when it comes to the birth of this AU:  
> I had a weird dream. Shared it with the megapit discord server. We all went in with with our headcanons. I wrote a little bit of this fanfic, just for fun, and was going to abandon it.  
>  _And then I didn't._
> 
> Anyways, as weird as this AU may sound, I hope you'll enjoy the read! ^^

Rock felt uneasy. Of course, it would be normal to feel this way, as he was about to head into what appeared to be a haunted house.

But that was his job. He was a ghost hunter.

Sure, he and his team were still considered amateurs, but at least they got the job done, and always got out of their missions unscathed.

Though, by _unscathed_ , he really meant _alive_. Even if barely.

They had a hefty collection of near-death experiences, some of them even getting scars courtesy of Demons, Banshees and Wraiths of all kinds.

The life of a ghost hunter was not a safe one. One mishap, and you would end up on the other side, joining the ghosts.

So why were they doing this, you may ask?

Well, while Rock may not be able to speak for his friends, his reason was tied to the fact a lot of people he had cared about had died over the years. Nowadays the only ones alive were with him in the ghost hunting scene. Safe for his sister, who highly disapproved of what he did for a living. And their little brother X.

That morning, after a slow week mostly spent reviewing photo evidence and making an inventory of their supplies and some much-needed maintenance on their equipment, they had gotten a call from Samus, one of the members of the “A” rank ghost hunting teams.

“The owners have left the house in a hurry,” she told them. “The ghost seems violent. Be safe out there.”

“We'll be safe! You know us!” Ness had assured, as Toon had raised an eyebrow. Their friend still had nasty-looking bruises around his neck from a near-death experience a few weeks prior. A Banshee almost got him at the door, and he could not speak for days.

They had laughed about it on the way back, especially Toon.

Nonetheless, he had still come back for more. Rock figured they were all a little bit insane like that.

* * *

They reached their destination, a quiet suburban neighborhood, the houses looking relatively the same. With such small grounds to cover, it would probably end up being a quick in-and-out investigation. Rock was almost glad the ghost was violent and active, as a shy and quiet Shade after such an uneventful week would be torture.

But something about this location made him particularly queasy and, somehow, sad. Try as he might have, he could not shake the feeling that there was something missing in the equation.

Villager's voice brought him back to reality, listing off their objectives and the few bits of information the professional team had gathered for them.

“He seems to respond to everyone,” he explained. “He has no victims to his record, yet, but he does seem to be particularly active, and has been known to cause bodily harm.”

“ _Ooooh, a mischievous one. Could be an Oni.”_ Toon signed.

“Maybe. As always, that'll be for you to find out.”

“Rock, is our gear ready?” Ness asked him.

“Uh? Oh, yeah, yeah.” he answered. “I double-checked everything before we went in the truck.”

“ _So, what's his name?”_ Toon asked.

“We know his first name: Peter.”

_Peter._

.

.

.

“ _Peter! Hey, Peter, we're here!”_ Toon signed, going around the house like he owned the place.

Ness was following after him, looking exasperated already, as he set up a camera in the hallway. “Will you quit it? Remember what happened last time?” He said, showing the bruises on his neck.

“ _I told you I'm sorry! But come on, do you know how many people know sign language?”_

“What if that ghost does, though?”

“ _That would be a first!”_

Rock smiled as he watched his two friends arguing as they set up their equipment. He was currently putting up a motion sensor in the hallway leading to the dining room and kitchen.

The house they were in was fairly modern: it couldn't have been built more than a few years ago. Which made it stand out against the other homes in the neighborhood.

Things were thrown on the ground at odd places. Whether it had been the family’s or the ghost's doing remained a mystery for now.

They secured most of the first floor, cameras and motion sensors set up to cover every angle, and even installed some cameras in the second floor's corridor, courtesy of Toon. Villager had been congratulating them on a job well done -and on time-, when the lights went out.

“Did you turn off the lights?” Rock asked.

Ness shook his head. “Nah, wasn't me.”

“Must have been the ghost then.”

“ _Hey, ghost! You don't scare us!”_ Toon stuck his tongue out at thin air, his two friends shaking their heads at the familiar shenanigans.

“Come on, Rock, let's go fix the lights. Breaker's in the basement.”

“What about Toon?” Rock asked.

Ness shrugged. “With how much he may have already aggravated our host, I don't really want to stick around.”

“ _Gee, thanks a lot!_ ” Toon protested as Ness was already getting a move on.

Rock chuckled, following after Ness, his torchlight lighting the way ahead. “Listen Toon, we love you, we really do, but if you die, you'll just have brought it upon yourself.”

He didn't stay to see Toon's reaction, but heard him groan, and went into the basement.

Unsurprisingly, though he had been the first to reach the breaker, Ness had done absolutely nothing with it, having gotten distracted by a bone near a car.

“Real professional.” Rock teased.

“Listen, do you want to make a few extra bucks or nah-” Ness cut himself off, looking at something else on the shelves. Then, his face lit up with a grin. “Ooooooh, hey there you beautiful thing you.”

“Whoa, Ness, listen, I'm flattered, but you know...” Rock joked, and Ness sighed.

“Not you, of course. But this beauty right here!” He said, pointing at something that Rock quickly recognized as a Ouija board.

“Nice! You found a new toy.” Rock mocked, going to do what they had been supposed to do instead, and ignoring his friend's mocking.

Ness picked up the board, contacting the truck, while Rock flipped the breaker back on.

“ We found a Ouija board in the basement. Over. ”

“ Don't use it. ” Villager warned. “ It's not worth it. Over. ”

Ness pouted, offended. “ Why would you think I would use it right away? Over. ”

“ I know who you are, Ness. Over. ”

Rock couldn't help but snicker, and he ignored Ness glaring daggers at him in favor of going upstairs.

They met back with Toon, and as soon as Ness entered the kitchen, the temperature dropped and he screamed, making his two friends startle.

“ You've got a spike in activity. It went up to 3. Over. ” Villager told them.

“ Yeah, we know. The ghost breathed in my ear. Scared the heck outta me.  ” Ness explained, still heaving from his scare. “  Over. ”

“ Great, you witnessed a ghost event then?  ” Villager noted. “  I'll cross it off the list. Over. ”

“Didn't get a picture of him though...” Ness pouted, looking down at his camera.

“Maybe next time.” Rock said as he patted him on the back.

Ness scoffed. “I'd rather there not be a next time...”

“ _Why did you come in a haunted house, then?”_ Toon teased him.

“ Alright boys, it's time to bring in some stuff for the investigation.  ” Villager told them. “  Come back to the van and grab the usual. Over. ”

They did as told, Rock doing so quicker than his associates, and while Ness and Toon were taking their sweet time making it back to the house, Rock decided to start the investigation on his own.

And it meant that he went upstairs, alone. It was not a really good idea, but something about the place pushed him to walk up there.

That, and they hadn't yet put up their equipment on the entirety of the second floor, even as time was running low.

He let his feet guide him, and soon found himself standing before a closed door that no doubt led to a bedroom. He frowned: something about this felt familiar, a sort of déjà-vu.

He put his hand on the door. It felt cold. Freezing, even.

Experience told him the ghost was most likely in there.

The door opened for him. He jumped up in fright, grabbing his walkie-talkie.

“ Guys... a door just opened right in front of me upstairs. The room is freezing. I'm going in. Over  .”

“ Roger that.  ” Ness said. “  We'll be with you right away. Stay alert. Over. ”

He went in, and immediately his senses went on high alert. The first thing he noticed was how empty and barren the room was: it looked barely lived-in, the walls painted a dull white, with just a bed and a nightstand, and an empty closet. Something about it felt extremely wrong, as if this room had been supposed to be filled with so many things you may have found it messy. But it would have been warm, inviting and colorful, the very opposite of what he was looking at.

He briefly wondered where that strange way he was feeling came from, and why he was so sure of those facts. But he had a job to do, and a pretty vital one at that.

He put down the Spirit Box on a desk, and checked his thermometer, which already read 0°C. He nodded to himself, putting the thermometer next to the Spirit Box, and grabbed his EMF, scanning the room. The device beeped almost continuously.

“ Confirmed freezing temperatures.  ” he said over the radio. “  No EMF higher than 3 for now. Over. ”

“ Alright, then we're either dealing with a Banshee, a Wraith, Yurei, Mare, Phantom, or a Demon.  ” Villager informed them. “  Be careful. Over. ”

“Ooooh, nice, we're mingling with the dangerous crowd.” Rock overheard Ness comment from downstairs.

“ Toon, I'm going to need your stuff to check for fingerprints and ghost writings. ” Rock said over the radio, looking around the room.

He knew it did not sound logical, but he still felt like something was off. Unfamiliar. Like this really was not what this room was supposed to look like. But he had never stepped foot in this house in his life... right?

The odd feeling of uneasiness suddenly intensified, and he almost missed Ness' reply.

“ Toon's ready to set up his gear, we're going upstairs right n- ”

The signal cut off. The radio in his hand crackled, silent. He heard Ness’ and Toon's screams.

“Ness? Toon?!” he hissed. The lights started to flicker. “Oh no, shit-”

A hunt had just started.

Rock rushed to the nearest closet. Hiding in the ghost room was not the smartest choice, but he just had to hope the ghost they were dealing with was anything but a Wraith, or he would be screwed for sure.

The hunt went on, surprisingly long for a first. He heard muffled, otherworldly footsteps coming from the room, and stopped breathing, a hand on his mouth, screwing his eyes shut. He felt a freezing sensation in his hair and on his face, like a hand trailing up and down his skin, and almost screamed.

The EMF beeped like crazy. Even with his eyes closed, he could see the lights flickering still.

On his other cheek, he felt an ice-cold yet soft pressure. He shivered, his skin becoming numb at the point of contact. Soon, his entire body trembled from the cold.

Then he heard a breath, confirming the ghost was on him.

That was it. He had been found. The ghost had him in his clutches, he was going to-

The ghost let him go. The hunt came to an end.

* * *

Rock was still alive. He blinked, dumbly, and barely registered anything around him, until he heard rushed footsteps coming for him, and Villager's and Ness' panicked voices.

“ Guys, Rock's sanity took a blow,  ” the former said on the radio. “  He's not responding to me. Over. ”

“Rock?! Rock!” Ness called for him. “Holy shit you better be alive!”

Rock did not respond, too stunned, scared and confused by what had just happened, and the fact he had somehow survived.

Had the ghost spared him? That would certainly be a first.

Ness almost threw the doors of the closet off their hinges, looking crazed with worry, Toon not looking any better. They both sighed in relief when they found their friend was alive and well, albeit a bit dazed.

Ness grabbed his radio on the spot. “Dude, Vil! We found him, he's okay. Over.”

Villager immediately berated Rock, sounding both angry and relieved. “ Rock, why didn't you respond to us?!… Over. ”

“I- sorry I just... I think I almost got killed.” He managed to say.

“What do you mean?” Ness asked, starting to get as confused as Rock. “Didn't you hide in this closet?”

“I did, but... he saw me through the doors. I think he's a Wraith.”

“ _Alright, if that's the case, then let's look for fingerprints, and make this sucker talk!”_ Toon signed, determined. He took the UV Light and inspected the closet doors: sure enough, there was a handprint there.

Toon signaled his discovery to his friends. Ness grinned, ready to share the news with the truck, as Rock, still not over his shock, was sitting down at the desk, trying to get a response from the ghost on the Spirit Box.

“ Yeah, Vil? We confirmed fingerprints. Over. ”

“ Great job. We either got ourselves a Banshee or a Wraith. Over. ”

“ Rock thinks he's a Wraith.  ” Ness explained, looking over at his friend who still looked a bit shaken. “  Apparently the ghost found him even behind closed doors. Over. ”

“ Noted. Could have still been a Banshee, with how persistent they are. Will wait on your results for the Spirit Box or EMF.  ” Villager informed them. “  Can you go set up some more cams around the second floor, so I can better monitor the house? Over. ”

“ Will do. Over. ”

Rock half-listened to their conversation, too busy frowning at his own EMF that kept going off in his direction. The ghost had definitely had him in his grasp. But then, why hadn't he done away with him?...

Toon tapped on his shoulder, signing that they would go set up more equipment and gather more evidence, asking him if he would be okay being alone in the room.

“I... Yeah. I think.” He forced out a smile, giving a thumbs up to his friends. “You guys go do your stuff. I've lived through worse.”

“Suit yourself!” Ness said, dusting off his hands after he had set up a camera in one of the corners of the bedroom, while Toon was already heading out. “Just don't stay in there too long, or you'll be good to turn into ice cream.”

_Ice cream._

Ness was looking at him funny. Rock didn't understand why.

“What is it?” Rock asked, wondering what had gotten into his friend.

“Nothing, just-” he laughed. “Why did you just repeat “ice cream”, out of the blue?”

“I- did I really?” Seriously? Wouldn't he have known? Was Ness teasing him?

“Dude... you sure you'll be alright?” Ness asked him, a tinge of worry in his voice. “I mean, we got this investigation in the bag, you could always go back to the truck-”

“ **_NO._ **”

Ness froze. “W-was that you, or-”

Rock shook his head, as equally shocked. “The Spirit Box-the ghost. The ghost said no.”

“Hey, don't worry Peter, we won't bring you back with us.” Ness tried to smile nonchalantly. “You can stay here for now.”

“ **_LEAVE._ **”

“Alright, alright, I'm leaving sheesh... if you wanna have some alone time with Rocky over here, just say so.” Ness said as he walked out the door, sending one last worried glance to Rock, who just gave him a thumbs up.

He would be fine. At least, he hoped so.

But he was now alone. Well, he supposed that was not exactly true.

“Peter, I'm going to ask you some questions. C-Can you answer me?” He tried his best not to stutter, but the freezing cold proved to make that difficult.

“ **_YES._ **”

“W-Where are you?”

“ **_NEXT._ ** ” A beat. “ **_CLOSE._ **”

“A-Alright, nice. Thank you for your cooperation.” If there ever were any doubts this was the ghost room, then they were gone now.

His radio crackled, making him startle. He heaved out a sigh when he realized it was just Villager trying to communicate. “ You're at a 4 in activity. Rock, if it is a Banshee, try to survive the next hunt. If it still targets you, we'll get you out of the house. ”

“ Oka- ”

“ **_NO._ **”

“ What was that? Over. ”

“ The, uh, that ghost is kinda talkative?  ” he responded awkwardly. “  Over. ”

“ Odd. At least we can cross off Banshee.  ” Villager sounded satisfied. “  It's a Wraith, boys. Keep some salt on you. And Rock, report back to me if more things like that come up. Over. ”

“ Roger. ” He and Ness responded over the radio.

“ **_NO._ **”

“No, what?” He responded to the ghost, surprising himself with how casually he did.

“ **_NO._ ** ” A brief pause. “ **_LEAVE._ **”

“Do you want us to leave?” He asked.

“ **_NO._ ** ” The Spirit Box crackled. “ **_NO. LEAVE._ **”

Rock raised an eyebrow. “You don't want us to leave?”

“ **_YES._ **”

That sounded kind of ominous. Besides, Rock had no intention of moving into this house. It almost freaked him out more than its ghostly occupant.

“But... we'll have to at some point,” he explained. “Once the guys are done-”

The room became colder, and his radio crackled. “Guys the activity spiked to an 8. Over.”

“Will you... be upset? If we leave?” He asked through chattering teeth.

“ **_YES._ **”

“Why?”

“ **_DEATH._ **”

Oh, that didn't sound too good.

“Do you want to kill us?” He asked, favoring being warned in advance. And if that Wraith was talkative, he was going to make the most out of it.

“ **_NO._ **”

“Oh. Uh, thank you?” To be honest, that was the first ghost he had met who had not said anything about “killing” or “dying” or anything of the sort for such a long time. More often than not, it would be among their first words.

Villager came back on the radio. “ Rock, I don't mean to scare you, but I'm looking through the cams, and the feed for the ghost room shows our resident Wraith is sitting on the chair right next to you. Over. ”

Rock gulped. “ R-Roger. He doesn't seem to want to hurt us. Over. ”

“ Tell that to Toon! ” Ness said over the comms.

“ What? What happened?  ” Rock inquired, worried Toon may have gotten a new scar on his face. “  ...Over. ”

“ He got hit in the face by a book. ” Ness explained.

Villager talked again. “ Was it after he had insulted the ghost? Over. ”

There were a few beats of silence, while Ness no doubt asked Toon if that was the case.

“ Apparently, yes. ” Was his answer.

“ Then he had it coming. Over. ”

“ Dude. Harsh. ” Ness commented.

Rock laughed, feeling a bit less stressed even though he had a ghost sitting close to him, and he suddenly felt a shift in temperatures: he swore the room had gotten a bit warmer.

A quick glance to the thermometer confirmed it. He wondered if...

“Peter? Are you still here?” He asked.

“ **_YES._ **”

“Oh… good! Did...” He was about to say something extremely silly, but...” Did the room get warmer because I laughed?”

“... **_YES._ **”

“You... like it when I laugh.” He said, not really knowing whether to ask it or state it as fact.

“ **_YES. YES._ **”

He chuckled: who was that ghost, seriously?

“You know, these goofballs may be a bit... strange, but at least they make me happy.” He explained to the ghost, still talking to him casually, as if with an old friend. “And they're... well... they're all I have left...”

“ **_DEATH._ **”

“Yeah. They're dead...” He sighed. “My father, my brother, a lot of our best friends... and the first and only boy I've ever loved...”

He felt a chill on his shoulder, and was brought back to reality. He was talking to a ghost. A violent ghost. Who could start a hunt and kill him at any moment.

Sure, the ghost had told him he did not wish to harm them... but could he really trust him?

He heard a knock on the door and jumped. He turned around and found Toon standing there.

“Toon?...” He asked, wondering why his friend had come back already.

“ _We're done setting up everything,_ ” Toon explained. “ _And we know what kind of ghost this is. Let's go._ ”

“ **_NO._ ** ” The spirit box said. “ **_NO. NO. NO..._ **”

The lights started to flicker, and Rock and Toon gasped. The latter grabbed his friend's arm and dragged him through the corridor, as they went to hide in the bathroom, making sure that they could not be seen through the door.

They stayed silent, the sound of their heartbeats filling their ears and minds, until a piercing scream ran through the house, and the hunt came to an end.

* * *

“NESS!” They screamed, running downstairs.

They found their friend in the living room, curled up behind a sofa, and surrounded by salt. Thankfully, he looked to be fine.

“Ness! What happened?! Are you okay?” Rock asked in a hurry.

“I- the ghost just…” Ness stuttered, pointing at a spot mere inches away from him. “He was right there...”

“ _Did you manage to take a photo?_ ” Toon asked, having his priorities straight.

“No, I-”

“ Guys! Ness' sanity has taken a blow. Are you all alright? Over. ”

“Yeah, we are. Kinda.” Rock responded.

“ Good. Time to get out, no need to stay here and risk our luck any longer. The activity is still pretty high, you're at a 7. Over. ”

“Yeah... let's go guys...” Rock said, heading to the door. But the moment he put his hand on the handle, it locked shut, and the lights flickered again.

“Are you fucking serious?!” Ness said in disbelief, going to hide in one of the rooms on the first floor.

Toon headed to the basement in a hurry. Rock followed after him, but tripped on something, cursing as he hit the floor. He looked behind him to find it was the Ouija board.

“Ness, I swear to god-” He cut himself off, his eyes widening in horror as he watched the Wraith coming after him, looking ethereal as he floated above the ground, a hand reaching out for him.

If Rock hadn't been fearing for his life, he would have found that the ghost looked pretty good compared to the horrifying animated corpses most ghosts he had encountered in his life had been like.

A life that would no doubt end soon. He closed his eyes, not wanting to face his doom head-on.

Instead, he thought hard about the faces of those he loved: his sister Roll, and her soon-to-be-wife Kalinka. His little brother, who looked up to him, a bit too much for his liking. His friends that were here in this house with him, and their families. Samus, Luigi, Simon and Bayonetta, the members of the professional team who would no doubt have to organize his funeral. Pac-Man, the most renowned and best ghost hunter this world had ever seen. And Rosalina, the nice lady who lived alone in the middle of a forest, in a mansion much too big for one woman, surrounded by her pets, but who had such a knack for telling stories and making you appreciate your life.

He had been close to death a number of times he should not have been comfortable with, he had gotten his arm broken, his ankle sprained, had had bruises on nearly every inch of his body, had stopped breathing for nearly a minute while being choked by a Mare, in the darkness of a tiny flat on a solo mission.

Yet he had managed to escape every single time. But tonight... Tonight it seemed as if he had run out of luck.

He wondered if he would meet with all the people he had lost over the years. See his father and brother again. And his friends: Sonic, Lucas, Nana, Popo...

_Pit._

He hoped, if he had anyone to meet, that he would see Pit. And finally be able to tell him how much he loves him, how much tears he cried after his death, how many times he had had dreams about him still being alive and well, of their future together, only to wake up and be brought back to the harsh and unforgiving reality.

At least, that thought brought him a bit of comfort before the end.


	2. Chapter 2

Rock felt a chill around his neck, the ghost's hand gently trailing over his skin. Soon, he felt cold all over, his body freezing, as he trembled, waiting for the moment the ghost would snap his neck.

He did feel a squeeze -around his back mostly-, but it felt more like a hug than attempted murder.

Still, he kept his guard up. Just because this ghost had apparently spared him the first time, and had told him he did not want to harm him, didn't mean he wasn't a murderous undead. For all he knew, he had only been saved by the clock, the ghost ending his hunt prematurely the first time around, to test the waters.

Still, the ghost kept trailing his hands all over his body, slowly, almost carefully. The more time went on, the more Rock started to feel more confused than terrified.

Then, the Wraith moved back to his face, and he felt something on his cheek, the same kind of pressure and frigid spot he had experienced during the first hunt. Someone less sane that he was would have interpreted it as a kiss. 

Not that he felt very sane at the moment…

He felt squeezed again, in a hug that would have no doubt been warm and comforting had he not been at the mercy of a dangerous Wraith. The ghost ran a hand through his hair, patting it in an almost reassuring gesture.

And, just like that, he was gone. The lights flickered back on, staying steady, and the room became warmer.

Rock opened his eyes to Ness' tears. He didn't have time to say anything, because the man brought him into a bone-crushing hug, which was not ideal, as he had been tensing up so much from anticipation, that his muscles had gone sore, the pain only masked by the cold from the Wraith.

“Holy shit! Rock! I saw- the ghost- and you-” Ness let go of Rock and looked him up and down in sheer disbelief. “How are you even _alive_?!”

“I have no idea.” Rock shrugged, laughing nervously. This was the second hunt he had survived despite being right in the ghost's icy arms. He had a hard time wrapping his mind around that fact.

What was going on with this Wraith? Most ghosts would have at least maimed one of them by their second hunt.

His mind immediately wandered to Toon. Ness was here, alive and well, but what of their other friend? His logical side told him that he was probably fine, as the ghost had been with him all along. 

But supernatural creatures did not follow logic.

“Toon! We have to check on Toon!” He said, scrambling to get up from the floor.

“Shit you're right!” Ness hissed. “Where is he?”

“He went to the basement-” Rock turned around and saw a shadow going up the basement's stairs, barely making any creaking sounds, and his heart stopped for a second. He could feel Ness tensing up as well.

Out of the door came Toon, who looked at them funny.

“Toon what the heck!” Ness exclaimed, relieved. “Why are you such a cat!”

“ _Why do you guys look so freaked out? Did something happen?_ ” Toon asked, looking unphased.

Ness looked at him disapprovingly. “Uh, yeah?! Rock almost died! Again!”

Upon learning that, Toon looked surprised. He turned to Rock. “Y _ou mean, you got spared by the ghost this time around too?_ ”

“Yeah.” Rock breathed, scratching the back of his head. “I'm so confused guys...”

“Don't worry, man.” Ness said, patting him on the back. “We are too.”

“ _Hey, has Villager contacted either of you yet?_ ” Toon asked.

Rock looked at Ness, then at Toon. “No, what about you?”

Toon shook his head.

Ness turned on the radio in his hand. “Hey, Vil? Vil do you copy? Over.”

The radio crackled, but no sound came out.

“ _Do you think something happened to him? Did the ghost get him?!_ ” Toon signed frantically.

“Nah, ghosts can't leave buildings. Something else probably happened.” Rock tried to rationalize, because god knows he needed some logic and reasoning at the moment. “That... or the ghost is still interfering with our equipment?”

“Whatever the case, someone will have to try and make it back outside...” Ness pondered aloud. “Toon, you up for it?”

Toon shrugged. “ _Honestly, I'm ready for anything._ ”

“Alright, then walk through that door and come back with some news.”

Toon saluted the both of them, and walked to the door. He put his hand on the handle, turning it ever-so-slightly. The three of them held their breaths and winced, expecting another hunt, but nothing happened once Toon got the door to open.

“Nice! Get out of there quick!” Ness urged him. “Before our host changes his mind!”

Toon gave them a thumbs up, and ran out the door as fast as he could.

Once he was gone from their sight, Ness and Rock waited for something to go wrong.

Nothing did.

“Well Rock, it looks as if your Wraith is finally allowing us to leave.” Ness said, smiling.

Rock looked at him funny. “Excuse me, _my_ Wraith?”

“I mean, Peter certainly does seem to be fond of you.” He teased, bringing Rock closer to the opened door as he tickled the peach fuzz on his chin. “Must be your little manly beard. The dudes love it, dead or alive.”

Rock managed to laugh, thankful for the opportunity to release some of the tension he felt.

But right as they reached the front door, it closed shut in an ominous creaking sound.

**_Click._ **

Ness blanched. “Oh shit, not again-”

* * *

This next hunt lasted a long, long time. Ness and Rock had gone opposite ways, the latter rushing to the basement, hoping that the ghost had not checked in there when Toon had first gone in.

He berated himself for not going with Ness, feeling more scared and anxious than he had ever felt in all of his missions over the years, standing alone in the darkness, waiting for any signs of the hunt coming to an end, or the ghost coming for him.

He tried to rub the soreness out of his muscles, still tense from the previous hunt, but froze when he heard a sound.

It sounded like a piano. The piano in the living room.

He hoped Ness was not anywhere near there.

He listened to the sound of the piano, a quiet little song played by the ghost, as he had nothing else to do. He closed his eyes, and swore he had already heard this song. Yet, it didn't sound like one of those well-known songs anyone could learn to play on the piano.

The song came to an end, but the hunt did not.

As he waited for this nightmare to finally come to a close, wondering how long it had been, he heard the stairs creak, and startled. Was it Ness, coming to look for him? But if the lights weren't turned back on....

Then again, maybe the ghost had messed with the breaker once more?

He got up and went to look at it: the breaker seemed like it was untouched. But then that meant-

He bit down a scream when he felt a chill run up his spine. Soon enough his whole body was engulfed in freezing cold.

“Please...” He begged. “Not again... please... why are you doing this?”

The ghost did not respond, of course it didn't. Instead, Rock felt, and saw, glacial and lean arms snake around his waist, holding him close.

He felt the Wraith breathe into his ear, almost giving him a heart attack. Then, out of nowhere, the ghost nuzzled his neck, gurgling away.

Rock could not take it anymore. He let out a terrified scream, starting to sob as he let himself fall on his knees. He had reached his breaking point.

“Stop! Please stop!” He begged, screwing his eyes shut against the tears, as his whole body trembled from both fear and cold. “I can't take it anymore! Let me go! Let me leave! I can't stay here, I have a sister and a little brother who need me! Or at least kill me! Just stop messing with my head! I can't-”

He stopped himself in the middle of his desperate ramble, noticing that, though the air was still icy, the ghost had ceased touching him the moment he had asked him to stop.

He tentatively opened his eyes, and looked, in stunned horror, at the Wraith, now standing right before him.

His eyes were hollow, his body looked burned and decayed, and in the darkness, Rock could not see the Wraith as well as he could have.

Yet, something about him -his face-, looked eerily familiar.

Still, he needed out. He wanted to go back to the truck, where it was safe. He didn't care that this Wraith was apparently intent on not killing him, for whatever reason this ‘Peter’ may have had.

He wanted to go home.

He kept silently crying, stressed out of his mind, and felt the ghost's hand run through his hair, in a painfully nostalgic and soothing gesture. He immediately leaned into the touch, out of instinct, and tried to find where or when he had last felt something like this.

He almost wanted to laugh: here he was, one moment crying and begging a ghost to let him go, and the next melting and relaxing under his frozen touch.

“Who are you?...” The words slipped past his lips before he had even thought of them, and the ghost stopped.

A few seconds later, he felt frigid hands gently cup his face, and his lips went numb from the almost burning cold.

And the wait was finally over, as the Wraith disappeared from the room, taking the cold away with him.

* * *

Rock felt more stunned than stressed over this third -and very personal- encounter, so he immediately rushed upstairs to check on Ness.

They almost bumped into each other in their frantic search for one another.

“Did you see the ghost again?” Ness asked him. “You don't look as terrified as you were.”

“Might be getting used to it...” Rock said, not yet mentioning how... intimate, this latest encounter had felt like. “And by that, I mean he did find me again.”

“Seriously?!” Ness exclaimed. “Is he toying with you?”

Rock looked to the side, feeling a bit awkward as he remembered all the gentle touches and caresses he had been subjected to by the ghost tonight. “More like flirting with me...”

“Excuse me, what?” Ness raised an eyebrow, placing his hands on Rock's shoulders. “Rock, look, I was only joking when I said the ghost was charmed by your looks...”

“Guys, report back to me,” came Villager's voice. “ ~~Over.~~ ”

“Hey, Vil! Welcome back dude. We're both fine, but it looks like the ghost starts hunting whenever Rock tries to leave.” Ness explained, side-eyeing Rock. “May I add that Rock has lost it and thinks the ghost is into him.”

“I'm not imagining it!” Rock protested. “He doesn't want me to leave, and he could have killed me three times by now! Instead he just keeps... touching me...”

“To be honest, Rock, your sanity has taken blows after blows. You're only at 15%.” Villager explained, and barely hid a snicker. “You should probably take some sanity pills, or go back to the truck.”

“We're telling you, he can't!” Ness argued. “The ghost doesn't want him to.”

“Maybe you could try to ask him why?” Villager proposed. “Rock told me _Peter_ was talkative. Over.”

“Yeah, right... could take us forever to have a clear answer if the Wraith only responds with “yes” or “no” or “kill” to every guess we throw at him...” Ness said, growing tired just imagining how the interrogation would play out.

“Then try the Ouija board you found, genius. Over.”

“Oh, really? The Ouija board?” Ness asked, faking ignorance. “I thought you forbade me from using it?”

“Yeah, because back then we had no use for it, smartass. Over.” Villager said, and the duo could easily picture him rolling his eyes.

Ness frowned. “Don't you go and start calling me names when I'm in a life-threatening situation!”

“You're a life-threatening situation to yourself!... Over.”

“Why you-”

“Okay, okay, guys! Stop!” Rock demanded, tired of the needless squabble.

“Hey he started it-”

Thankfully the argument soon ended, interrupted by Toon's giggling, as their friend had come back into the house.

“What's so funny, Toon?” Rock asked, still mildly annoyed, confused, and on edge.

“ _You have fingerprints all over you._ ” Toon told him, pointing the UV light on him. “ _And more importantly..._ ”

He pointed to Rock's face, and Ness did a double-take. He soon started to giggle as well.

“Holy shit dude-”

Rock looked at the two of them, panicking slightly. “W-what?! What's going on? What's with my face?!”

“ _Don't worry._ ” Toon smiled. “ _It's simply proof you may be right about the whole flirting thing._ ”

Rock felt his blood run cold. “What?! Why?!”

“ _You have some nice little kiss marks right on both your cheeks._ ” Toon explained, then his smile turned into a smirk. “ _And your lips._ ”

On his _lips_?! Was that what he had felt earlier?

But then, that meant that the ghost had-

“Dude!” Ness laughed. “You lost your first kiss to a ghost!”

“What?! No! But-”

“ _It's okay, Rock..._ ”

“No it's not!” Rock protested, on the verge of another breakdown. “I wanted Pit to be my first kiss! I-”

“Hey, look at it on the bright side: Pit is dead, and could be a ghost. Just imagine our Wraith friend here is him.” Ness offered.

Rock glared daggers at him, feeling a bit saddened at the thought that a random ghost had stolen what shouldn't have belonged to anyone else but the dead love he still could not move on from.

“This sucks.” He grumbled, flopping down on one of the couches. “But at least we know we won't die.”

“You mean _you_ won't die, _ghost husbando._ ” Ness remarked, ignoring Rock's offended squawk at the new nickname. “We don't know if your boyfriend wants to keep us around as well.”

“ _Ness is right. Nothing is telling us he won't try to kill us.”_ Toon pointed out _. “After all, he let me go outside._ ”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Rock admitted. “But maybe-”

He cut himself off, as he heard a sound coming from upstairs. Or, rather, a song.

“Maybe what?” Ness asked, and Rock shushed him.

“Do you guys hear that too?...”

“Hear wha-” Ness stopped speaking, as Toon put a finger on his mouth, looking judgemental.

Now that it was silent, the three of them could distinctly hear a song. Namely, someone singing a song.

Rock recognized it on the spot.

“It's the same song the ghost played on the piano...” He whispered, still trying to recall where or when he had first heard it.

“Gotta give it to him, he has a nice voice for a dead guy.” Ness complimented.

Toon stayed focused on the song, his eyes closed. When he opened them, he looked at his friends.

“ _Doesn't it sound familiar to you?..._ ”

Rock lit up at that. Finally! He had been really starting to think his brain had been turned to mush. “I know, right?! That's what I thought when the piano version first played!”

“I mean, maybe it's one of those songs everybody in the world has heard at least once in their lives?” Ness offered as an explanation, and Rock gave him a tired stare, but refrained from saying anything. After all, his friend would have had no way of knowing what had gone through his head back when he had first heard the ghost's song.

“ _No, no, I meant it in a more..._ ” Toon looked at his hands for a moment. “ _...Personal way?..._ ”

Ness let out a low whistle. “Dude I think you've reached Rock's level when it comes to low sanity.”

“ _I'm not crazy you jackass!_ ” Toon protested. Rock decided to ignore the both of them.

“Anyways, this singing is pretty but it's kinda freaking me out, and I really want to...” Rock looked around, on edge, not daring to say _that_ word. “... you know...”

“ _Leave?_ ” Toon signed, and Rock mentally facepalmed.

Like clockwork, the Wraith sprung into action, as they heard the distinctive click of the door when it shut closed once more, the lights flickering on cue.

* * *

Toon looked around, more astonished than panicked. “ _Does that ghost know sign language?!_ ”

“I told you it would bite you in the butt someday!” Ness groaned. “Ok, real talk: Toon, we hide. Rock, you're bait.”

Rock did a double take from the sofa he was sitting on, sputtering. “What- but-”

Ness emptied a bag of salt all around Rock, told him to shut up, and ran away to a hiding spot, Toon having already gone to hide behind some furniture.

Not a moment later, the ghost showed up at the entrance of the living room. When he spotted Rock, he went faster towards him, in something that almost looked like eagerness.

But he stopped when he reached the salt, looking down at it, then at Rock, tilting his head as if asking “ _Why?_ ”.

And, yeah, maybe Rock had really lost it, because when the Wraith reached out for him and found out he was too far away to even trace his fingertips on his ‘prey’, Rock felt a pang of sympathy, and did something really dangerous and crazy.

He got up, walked across the salt, and opened his arms wide, sighing, and barely believing what he was about to say. Words that may become his last, if he had been wrong in his assumption.

“Alright. You can hug me all you want.”

The Wraith had already been throwing himself onto him, but he froze mid-reach, looking at Rock with an indecipherable expression.

Soon, he smiled, one corner of the half-mouth he still had turning up in what Rock hoped was a joyful grin, and not a sadistic smirk.

But that smile... certainly did something to his heart. And not in a bad way.

He studied the Wraith's face, but it was much too decayed and obscured to be decipherable, and soon enough it was out of sight, buried in the crook of Rock's neck.

“You're a r-really c-cuddly one, a-aren't you?” He said through the chills he felt going up his back, his whole body turning cold in the ghost's frigid embrace.

The ghost gurgled gently in his ear, and Rock tried not to let that freak him out. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed Toon looking at him as if he had gone mad -and maybe he had-, signing “ _What in the everloving hell are you doing?_ ”

Rock smiled at him, and focused back on the ghost, who had started singing again.

“That song of yours...it's beautiful.” He whispered, hugging the ghost back, just like his heart wanted him to. “And I know it, I'm sure. Toon does, too.”

The Wraith kept on singing, with renewed vigor, and hugged him tighter, swaying a bit into the embrace. Rock got an idea at that. It was a stupidly asinine idea, but he figured he had long since crossed that line.

After all, wasn't he flirting with a ghost?... 

He sincerely hoped Pit wouldn't mind.

“Say... how about a dance? You and me?” He asked, and waited for the ghost's answer.

He did not have to wait long, as less than a second later, they started moving on the ground, swaying on the rhythm dictated by the Wraith's song. Rock closed his eyes, and, despite himself, Ness' earlier teasing comment came back to his mind.

_Just imagine this is Pit._

So he did, and it made the whole experience feel much more enjoyable. He almost forgot about the freezing air, his whole body shivering from the cold, and the terrifying ghost in his arms.

For some reason, hearing the song easily brought back his memories of Pit, even though it had been years since his untimely demise.

After a while of twirling around the living room, the song came to an end, and so did their clumsy waltz. Rock sighed in the ghost's shoulder. “Why do you want me around so much? Why do you want me to stay?... I don't know you...” The uncomfortable pang of familiarity came back with a vengeance, his heart beating fast. “... do I?”

The ghost let him go, kissing his forehead.

Rock expected the hunt to end, but it did not.

Instead, the Wraith started floating away, glancing over his shoulder as if to check if Rock would follow him.

So, Rock did, diligently walking to where the ghost wanted him to go. Which happened to be the Ouija board.

“You want to talk with this?” He pondered aloud. “I mean, we had been planning to use it to communicate with you...”

The Wraith looked at him, and pointed to Toon's hiding spot, his eyes not leaving Rock.

“You...” Rock hesitated, not wanting to put his friend in danger. “Want all of us here?”

The Wraith flickered out of existence, but still did not end his hunting phase. Rock found himself talking to thin air again.

“I'm fine communicating with you this way.” He explained, wondering what choices in his life lead him to speak so casually with an undead person. “But do you mind if I go upstairs to take the Spirit Box as well?”

There was no response, good or bad, so Rock decided to go fetch it. When he came back downstairs, he spotted Toon, still half-hidden, shaking his head in disbelief and worry.

“ _What has gotten into you?!_ ”

Rock shrugged, and gestured for him to come join him next to the Ouija board. Toon shook his head, staying hidden.

“Come on, Toon. You'll be alright, I promise.”

“ _Are you possessed or something?_ ” Toon said, his eyes as wide as could be. “ _The hunt is not-_ ”

Toon shrieked, as the ghost appeared right next to him. He trembled all over, screwing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth, preparing for the worst.

Rock blanched, really hoping the ghost was in the mood to spare his friends as well.

The Wraith raised his hand, looking about ready to strike, but simply and tentatively put his fingers on Toon's scar, tilting his head.

Toon opened one eye, sending a clear distress signal to Rock, who could only watch and shrug in confusion. The Wraith disappeared once again, and Toon bolted out of his hiding place, running straight to Rock and slapping his face.

“OW!” Rock yelled. “What was that for?!”

Toon didn't say or sign anything, going instead for a hug. Rock awkwardly patted him on the back, feeling somewhat worried that he was now taking every strange thing that had been going on tonight in stride, instead of freaking out like he should have.

Toon let go of him, and looked him straight in the eyes.

“ _Alright. Let's talk with your boyfriend._ ” He indulged. “Idiot.”

“Hey!” Rock protested, both for the boyfriend thing, and the fact Toon had talked to insult him. But he could not retaliate with anything, as a deafening shriek filled the air.

“Ness!” He screamed, running towards the sound, Toon close behind. “Are you okay?!”

Their friend was on the floor, a bag of salt at the ready, his eyes not leaving the ghost, who was not daring to approach him.

The Wraith moved his arm, and pointed to Toon and Rock, in the direction of the board.

“ _Dude you're okay! Why did you scream like that?_ ” Toon asked their friend.

“Why?!” Ness repeated, offended, making wild gestures toward the ghost. “You're asking me why?!”

He jumped up in fright as the ghost approached him, pointing once again towards the Ouija board, a bit more insistently.

“ _I think he really wants to talk to us with the Ouija board._ ” Toon noted.

“Yeah, no kidding...” Rock said, helping Ness back up.

“Wait, wait! Are we really going to listen to the ghost?!” Ness asked. “Is that what we're doing now?”

“Look, Ness, we need to figure out what's going on, and it is our best option.” Rock reasoned. “'sides, you love using Ouija boards.”

“I do, but...” Ness looked really unsure, a rare sight for his friends. But soon enough, he got over it, heartily slapping Rock's back. “Heh, what the hell. We're already screwed anyways. Come on, ghosty! Let's talk over some tea.”

“ _But we don't have any t-_ ” Toon started, but Rock stopped him, guiding him towards the Ouija board.

Once they were all settled and seated around it, the ghost floated their way, ready to join them.

“ _Alright, who's going to activate it?_ ” Toon inquired.

Ness shrugged. “I mean, 'am the Ouija guy.”

“Which is why you usually lose the most sanity on our missions...” Rock commented, and to his surprise, he felt like the Wraith at his side giggled, before fading away, the hunt coming to an end, as the lights went back on.

He was distracted by that fact when Ness put his hand on the board, the item glowing, and introduced himself.

* * *

“Alright, so, Peter. We've known each other for nearly a night now, but just in case,” he started, “I'm Ness. And these are my pals, Rock and Toon. Vil's back in the truck. We're ghost hunters.”

“Amateurs.” Rock mentioned.

“Yeah, sure...” Ness sighed. “You didn't get the crème de la crème, but at least we're here to keep you company, I guess?”

“We're going to ask you some questions, and you'll respond with the Ouija board.” Rock explained to the void. “Just like I did with the Spirit Box. Which you may still use, if you want. Understood?”

A crackle from the box. Then “ **_YES._ **”

“Cool!” Ness said, giving the air a thumbs up. “Alright, so, first question-”

“ _Did you live here?_ ” Toon signed.

Ness and Rock looked at him. Rock started talking. “Um, Toon, you didn't spea-”

He cut himself off as the Spirit Box went off. “ **_YES._ **”

“ _Whoa! So it wasn’t a coincidence! That ghost really does know sign language!_ ” Toon exclaimed, excited. “ _How cool!_ ”

“See?! I told you, didn't I?” Ness bragged. “I told you it could happen!”

“ _Yes, yes..._ ” Toon dismissed. “ _We're all very proud of you._ ”

“How did you die? Was there someone else with you?” Ness asked, deciding to ignore Toon's mocking.

The Ouija board made a noise, and they all bent down to read the word the ghost was spelling out for them.

**A-L-O-N-E**

“... dude, I'm so sorry...” Ness whispered.

“ _How old were you when you died?_ ” Toon asked, happy to be a part of the interrogation. “ _A child? An adult?_ ”

**T-E-E-N**

“Aaaaw.” Toon said, and then signed. “ _I hate it when people die young and alone._ ”

Rock nodded. “When did you die?”

**H-A-L-L-O-W-E-E-N**

“Man, Halloween? Really? That sucks!” Ness said.

“ _Who or what killed you?_ ” Toon signed.

The moment his hands stopped moving, the lights went out. Only to start flickering in a disorganized rhythm, startling the three ghost hunters.

* * *

“Aw, come on!” Ness protested. “Another hunt?! Really? We were just talking man!”

He shut up when the ghost manifested in the room, and soon frost covered the ground around the Wraith's form, the air turning frigid.

The ghost's physical form phased in and out before them. But they soon realized he was not running right towards them, but rather running away from them.

“He's... fleeing?” Rock observed, wondering why that was.

“Great... now we won't know the rest of the story, or why he doesn't want you to leave...” Ness huffed. “Good going Toon.”

“ _How could I expect he would react that way?!_ ” Toon argued, frowning at Ness, who shrugged.

“I dunno. Sounds to me like dying would be a pretty traumatizing thing.” He explained.

Rock shook his head, exasperated. “Now's not the time guys. And how were we supposed to know ghosts could suffer from PTSD?”

He grabbed the Ouija Board and Spirit Box, and took to running after the Wraith, right as Toon looked smugly at Ness, the latter grumbling under his breath.

Rock did not know where the ghost had gone to, but if he had to guess, it would be the ghost room.

“Peter?” Rock asked upon entering said room. “It's me, Rock. Your uh... favorite?”

The ghost appeared to him, huddled up next to the windows, as if crying.

“Hey now... it's okay. It's okay, you're not alone...” He murmured, going to sit next to the decayed man. He hesitated to touch him, his psyche not really fond of the idea of touching a terrifying ghost, but he figured he was well past that at the moment.

So, he wrapped an arm around the ghost's back, being mindful of the wings, and held him close.

The Wraith soon stopped crying, and leaned into his touch. Rock was frozen to the bones, but tried not to let that phase him.

He took a good look at the ghost's features, and his heartbeat picked up the pace. He had known all along that something in him felt like this whole situation was familiar, and that, maybe, he knew that 'Peter'.

The only problem being, he could not recall anyone named Peter in his life. The only person he knew with something close to that name had been-

His thoughts were interrupted by Toon and Ness, still looking a bit miffed, quietly entering the room. Rock paid them no mind, continuing to comfort the Wraith, as he placed down the Ouija board and the Spirit Box.

When he noticed the newcomers in the room, the ghost faded out of existence, and this umpteenth hunt ended.

* * *

“Peter, I know this is hard, but... we need to know.” Rock explained to thin air, talking as soothingly as he could. “Do you think you can answer us?”

The Spirit Box crackled, silent for a few seconds, until, “ **_...YES._ **”

“Alright. So,” Rock braced himself, “What did you die from?”

**F-I-R-E**

Right as he said the spelled-out word out loud, Rock felt a numbing chill overcome him, the cold stinging at his forehead, and suddenly, his vision shifted.

* * *

He was laying on a bed in the evening, inside a familiar room. The walls around him looked distorted, and the corner of his vision was blurred. He noticed cartoony ghosts, bats and pumpkins on the walls, as well as various other decorations that simply screamed Halloween.

He couldn't see himself, but he could hear and feel well enough. Outside, children and adults were chatting and laughing and screaming. The town and neighborhood was alive with the holiday cheer. He almost smiled at the feeling this brought out of him.

_His friends should have been there to pick him up for the party already. But they probably got caught up in a traffic jam, just like every Halloween._

He kept on waiting patiently, playing games on his phone to pass the time. But then he noticed something. A smell. An acrid smell. Smoke.

Soon enough he felt the air in the room getting warmer. He tried to get up on his feet, and run through the corridor, but his legs gave out and he tripped and fell.

He screamed for help, hoping someone outside would hear him and come to his rescue.

Smoke started to fill the corridor, and the temperature went up. Desperate, Rock tried to crawl, and felt himself looking for something.

_His crutches! Where are his crutches?! Did his brother hide them?! Now was not the time for a prank-_

He shook his head: there was no time for that! He had to get out- he had to get out before-

The fire spread rapidly, already on the second floor. It felt unbearably hot.

He felt himself start crying, his breaths short and ragged in his panic, and he desperately tried to make it to the window. If only he could muster up the strength to hoist himself up, open it and let himself fall outside...

_-Too high! This is too high! I'm never going to make it!_

The smoke stung at his eyes, his vision blurred even more. The fire was now at the door, and it felt so hot. Too hot.

He could barely breathe, blinking away the smoke in his eyes as much as he could. Boosted by adrenaline, he had managed to reach the handle of his window, now if only he could-

He screamed as the flames started licking at his feet, the burning sensation unbearable. Beneath him, the ground collapsed, and all the air in his lungs went out as he hit the rubble beneath.

He was now trapped in a fiery tomb, the heat and pain unbearable, his tears drying up on the spot. He could not feel his legs anymore, either broken or eaten away by the fire.

He tried to call for help, but he could only cough, as the flames got closer and closer. He howled in pain as his hair caught fire, the outfit he had been wearing to go trick-or-treating with his friends doing the same.

All he could do now was cry. And pray. He wished for the pain to stop. He wished for the heat to end. He never wanted to feel warm for the rest of eternity.

He just wanted it to end.

And it did.

* * *

Rock awoke to someone roughly shaking him.

“-ock! Rock! Wake up!” Ness yelled. “What the hell is going on with you!”

“It burns!” He screamed, crying, not fully back to reality yet. “It burns! So much! Help, please! Anyone!”

He slowly managed to shift his focus on the world around him, a very concerned Toon trying to communicate with him.

“ _What the heck do you mean “it burns”?! It's freezing!_ ” He signed frantically. “ _There's frost on the furniture!_ ”

Rock blinked, looking around and seeing ice on the ground. His grip on reality came back, though he still felt positively shaken by what he had just experienced, letting a few more tears slip down on his cheeks.

“I-I saw what happened.” He explained between shaky breaths. “To the ghost, I mean...”

“Really?” Ness murmured softly, looking genuinely sympathetic. “Dang, must have been scary to think you've died...”

But Rock was less preoccupied by the dying part, and more by everything else he had witnessed. 

Because he had recognized that room. He had recognized that house. He had recognized the fire.

Most importantly, he had recognized who they had been talking with all along.

And, just like that, everything was starting to fall into place. Yet, he still didn't fully believe it.

There was no way. No way. He would have known right?

“Hey, guys...” He said, his voice slow and hollow. “Didn't- didn't Pit used to live in this neighborhood?”

Ness blinked, looking pensive for a moment. “I mean, I didn't even realize it 'til then, but now that you say it, yeah... third house left, right?”

Rock gulped, already knowing the answer, but dreading being right. “W-Where are we right now?...”

Toon and Ness looked at each other, and the first one responded. “ _Third house le-_ Oh my god.”

Toon had been so shocked he had talked. And Ness had found himself silent, his eyes looking everywhere and nowhere at the same time, as if he was trying to make sense of everything around him.

That is, until he screamed, and grabbed ahold of Toon's shoulders, shaking him.

“HOLY FREAKING SHIT DUDES!” he yelled. “We've been ghost hunting in the same place one of our best friends died in!”

Meanwhile, Rock found himself on the verge of crying. Had it really been Pit they had been dealing with all night long? Was he the ghost they would have to get rid of?

No, he could never get rid of him, dead or alive... he loved him too much for that. And he had so many things to tell him, but the professional team would come to dispose of the ghost once their team would have identified him and come back to headquarters with their report, and he would need much more time than that to truly catch up with his soulmate...

His heart was torn between being overjoyed that he had the chance to tie up loose ends and talk with Pit one last time, and feeling devastated that he would have to live through a second heartbreak. But there was only one way to find out for sure if the ghost really was his deceased best friend and crush.

So he put a trembling hand on the Ouija board, his heart heavy, and asked the questions whose answers he feared.

“Did you know us?” He asked, hoping for a no. Hoping, for once in his life, that he was wrong.

“ **_YES._ **” Came the answer from the spirit box.

No. Oh no...

“From where?”

The Ouija board moved.

**H-I-G-H-S-C-H-O-O-L**

Rock took a deep breath, his two friends watching in a stunned silence. This was bad... please no...

“How close were we...?”

**F-R-I-E-N-D-S**

He was now sure of it. It had to be him. It had to be.

“What- what's your name?” He choked, barely holding back tears.

.

.

.

**P-I-T**


End file.
